Look, but don’t touch these deceptive beauties
If you go down to the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise — and possibly a nasty rash, if you happen to pick some pretty white flowers.
The deceptively delicate flowers of bloodroot, a potentially toxic plant once used to make a red dye and to induce abortions in humans and horses, has made an early arrival in these parts.
Bloodroot is one of the earliest spring ephemerals, but thanks to our unusually mild winter, it is in full bloom a month early on wooded hillsides around the city. The plant flourishes in woods above rivers and creeks, especially on sunny, south-facing slopes.
Each plant bears a single, deeply lobed leaf that is tightly curled around the flower as the stalk emerges from an underground rhizome; the leaf slowly unfurls as the flower blooms. Each flower can last 10 to 12 days, opening and closing each day with the sun.
Despite its scientific name, Sanguinaria canadensis, bloodroot is actually native to large swaths of North America, where for centuries the plant was valued by aboriginal users for herbal medicines, dyes and even insect repellent. The plant, part of the poppy family, contains a red sap, but the roots, in particular, carry a potent dye that’s crimson red. According to an online database published by the University of Michigan, Iroquois and Ojibwa used a decoction of these roots for bleeding axe cuts on the foot. Abnaki used bloodroot to cause abortions in horses and people, while Algonquin employed it as a love charm and red dye for skin, clothing and weapons.
It’s now known that bloodroot contains sanguinarine, a toxin that kills animal cells. And while you can still easily obtain bloodroot preparations online for herbal treatments, traditional medicine doesn’t recommend it. Bloodroot’s bitter taste is thought to discourage the accidental ingestion of dangerous amounts, which is just as well, since it can lead to vomiting, dizziness and fainting — and in extreme cases, coma and possibly death. Star editor Margaret Bream can be reached at mbream@thestar.ca